The present invention relates to promotional packaging, and more particularly to a package that includes a multi-ply wall containing a normally concealed, consumer accessible, promotional message or indicia located between two of the plies, and a method of manufacturing the package.
It is common practice to distribute promotional materials, such as game pieces, tickets, coupons and temporarily concealed printing in connection with sale of packaged foods and other commercial products. In the past, various attempts have been made to include promotional devices when distributing products at the point of purchase. Both the inclusion of separate pieces and of certain printing procedures have been used previously. In particular, where packaged foods are concerned, it is costly to provide separate game or other promotional pieces. Extra precaution must be taken to mount separate pieces exteriorly or between layers of packaging films, or to separately wrap the pieces when they are co-packaged with food, such as cereal, in order to prevent possible food contamination.
There have also been past attempts to print a hidden message directly on the package. In general, these attempts have proven to be ineffective. Most previous packaging materials were not conducive to having printing placed thereon, other than that relating to the standard package label. In particular, where games are involved, it becomes important that certain printing be hidden from view until after a sale of the product and opening of the packaging. This requires the printing of readable material or indicia on the inside of the packaging plies or laminates. Heretofore, this practice was difficult and relatively expensive.
Other methods for distributing promotional pieces have included gluing or otherwise affixing a gamepiece to the outside of the package, or to maintain the product and the promotional piece as separate entities to be distributed by a supermarket cashier at the point of sale. It will be apparent that these methods not only create opportunities for extensive abuse through intermediate handling of the gamepiece, but also effectively remove control of the particular promotion from the producer of the product.
Therefore, there exists a need for a package having a built-in promotional message which is simple to produce, such as by printing technique, which is cost effective, and which may be concealed until the package has been opened after sale.
There also exists a need for a package having a promotional message, which prevents contamination of the message by the packaged product, as well as contamination of the product.
There also exists a need for a package having a promotional message, which is not susceptible to tampering, and which can only be accessed after the package has been sold and destroyed.
According to the present invention, the foregoing advantages are attained by providing a novel package for receiving a comestible or other product along with a concealed message hidden from view, until such time that the package has been opened by an ultimate consumer. A novel method of fabricating the package is also taught herein.
One advantage of the invention is that it combines the use of a concealed message or indicia and a visible message or indicia. The concealed message or indicia acts as a game piece or other promotional device. The visible message or indicia acts to advertise a possible prize or otherwise entice consumers to purchase the product.
A wall of the novel package comprises at least two plies, an outer ply and a second intermediate ply. Preferably a third inner ply is added. Because the plies may be transparent, a variety of printing and masking combinations can be used to create and hide the concealed message. Preferably the concealed message is applied, by printing or otherwise, to either surface of the intermediate ply or the interior surface of the outer ply. A masking material is provided to hide the concealed message from exterior or interior view. The exact placement of the masking material depends upon the placement of the concealed message. For example, should the concealed message be printed on the exterior surface of the intermediate ply, the masking material can be applied to either the exterior or interior surfaces of the outer ply. Of course, other printing and masking combinations are also available depending on whether an opaque or transparent material is used.
A masking material may also be provided, by printing or otherwise, to hide the message when viewed from the wall's interior. For example, should the concealed message be printed on the interior surface of the intermediate ply (assuming a transparent material is used), the masking or concealing material can also be applied to the interior surface of the intermediate ply. This conceals the message when viewed from the wall's interior, yet leaves the message visible through the transparent ply when viewed from the intermediate ply's exterior.
The visible message may be printed on either the inner or outer surface of the outer ply, or the outer surface of the intermediate ply. If printed on the inside surface of the outer ply, the message would be printed in reverse, so that it would be readable from the exterior of the package. A masking material is also provided, by printing or otherwise, on the outer ply so as to hide the concealed message but not obscure the visible message. For example, should the visible message be printed on the interior surface of the outer ply (assuming a transparent material is used), a masking material is also applied to the interior surface of the outer ply. The masking material will cover the message when viewed from the wall's interior, yet leave the message visible when viewed through the transparent ply from the wall's exterior.
Although any of the above outlined techniques may be used within the province of this invention, the preferred procedure for fabricating the novel package utilizes, with minimal or no modification, known laminating and printing techniques. An alternate printing and masking technique involves applying the masking material to the exterior surface of the outer ply. Then, if desired, the visible message is printed on the masking area. This is the package surface that is usually seen by a prospective purchaser. A concealed message to be normally hidden from view by the masked area is then imprinted on the interior surface of the outer ply. The message, for instance, may inform the purchaser that he or she has won a contest prize. In this embodiment, the masking material will hide the concealed message even if the concealed message is printed on the interior surface of the outer ply. Additional combinations of printing and masking among the two plies will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the outer and intermediate plies are not adhered to one another by an adhesive layer in an area surrounding the concealed message, thereby creating a non-adhering surface area wherein the outer and intermediate plies are not cojoined. Consequently, once the package is opened and cut along the periphery of this non-adhering surface area, the plies can be separated to reveal the concealed message. The adhesive layer is preferably applied to the outer facing area of the intermediate ply. If a third inner ply is used, an adhesive layer is preferably applied to the interior surface of the intermediate ply.
A further advantage of the invention is that the masking area need only be large enough to cover the concealed message. Thus, portions of the package can remain transparent so long as the concealed message is masked from both the wall's exterior and interior surfaces as described above.
A further advantage of the invention is that the outer and intermediate plies may be adhered over the entire area of the package wall, except the non-adhering surface area containing the concealed message, or adherence may be restricted to portions around the non-adhering surface area's periphery, thus ensuring that a prospective purchaser can not prematurely separate the plies to determine which package contains a winning message.
The concealed message contemplates many promotional devices such as, but not limited to:
Message informing consumers that they have won a grand prize, or that they have won a secondary prize. PA1 Message informing consumers that they have lost, but to try again. PA1 Message informing consumers that they are eligible for a free product for a certain time span. PA1 Message informing consumers that they have a portion of the winning phrase or indicia, and must match it with the balance of the phrase or indicia by purchasing additional product. PA1 Message showing a diagram of a portion of the grand prize; for example an automobile. To win the automobile, they must complete the illustration of the automobile.
All messages are aimed at increasing the sale of the product being packaged, or by cross-referencing the sale of other products offered by the same supplier.
The invention further anticipates a novel method of fabricating a package containing a readable promotional message or indicia. The method contemplates the use of conventional printing, web handling and adhesive application equipment, as schematically presented in FIG. 6.